After the devastation of 9/11, we have spent five years being manipulated by fear.

Fear worked for the Bush administration to lead us into an illegal war, and fear got him re-elected in 2004. There are pre-packaged news reports, made to look genuine. Lies, half-truths and the use of straw men in his speeches.

Some examples: Bush has said that those who are against his No Child Left Behind are “against holding schools accountable.”

If you are against the war in Iraq you are “… not interested in the security of the American people.”

Those who question the program to monitor international communications “… underestimate the terrorist threat.”

This tactic of putting the blame on anyone who disagrees is used constantly in Bush’s speeches.

The American people need to hold accountable all those members of Congress who have been blindly supporting the administration. They haven’t had the courage to demand accountability for all the illegal activities.

In the primaries of June 13 and in November’s elections, we have the opportunity to vote for the people who can lead us out of this quagmire.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Pat Blake, Bethel